Chimanimani National Park, in Manica province, is preparing to strengthen surveillance of its elephant herds through the deployment of new tracking collars. The operation, scheduled for the coming days, aims to monitor the animals’ movements, reduce human-elephant conflicts and step up efforts to combat poaching in the conservation area.
The initiative comes at a time when the park’s elephant population is showing signs of growth. According to the conservation area’s administrator, Leonel Macicame, the devices will be introduced gradually, expanding the park’s capacity to track the animals.
Five new collars will be fitted during this phase, adding to the three already in use and bringing the total number of devices used to monitor elephants to eight.
“We are now going to have five more collars, which will be added to the three we already have, bringing the total to eight. This is a good number for our conservation area. According to the latest census, the results of which were published last year, we have 101 elephants,” Macicame explained.
In addition to monitoring elephant herds, the park administration has reported progress in tackling poaching, one of the threats to wildlife conservation. According to Leonel Macicame, poaching has fallen by 90 per cent, a reduction attributed mainly to awareness-raising efforts and the involvement of communities living in surrounding areas.
The administrator believes that protecting natural resources does not depend solely on the presence of rangers, researchers or surveillance equipment. In his view, the participation of local communities is essential to achieving lasting results.
“We can do everything. We can have the best rangers, the best researchers, the best technical staff and the best workers. But if the surrounding community does not understand or is not engaged in what we are doing, all of this is multiplied by zero. And we know that multiplying any number by zero gives zero. What we did, therefore, was recognise from the outset that we needed to involve local communities,” he stressed.
The conservation strategy is therefore based on a combination of stronger surveillance mechanisms and closer engagement with communities, seeking to ensure that biodiversity protection goes hand in hand with greater local participation in preserving the area’s natural heritage.
Meanwhile, the efforts of the Chimanimani National Park administration extend beyond combating poaching. Leonel Macicame revealed that measures are also under way to curb illegal mining within the protected area.
With the introduction of the new tracking collars and intensified community awareness initiatives, the park aims to consolidate the progress made in protecting wildlife and tackle human activities that continue to pose challenges to the conservation of its ecosystems.
